We searched high and low for this year’s holiday card concept. We wanted something heartwarming and inspiring-something that had a deeper meaning than a generic message. The Starfish Storyis an old classic, but we were moved by its message, being reminded that each one of us has the power to positively impact the lives of others.

After reading The Starfish Story, LKF chose to fund an Advanced Manufacturing Training Scholarship to support the Southwest Michigan Advanced Manufacturing Career Consortium. This scholarship will provide its recipient with the skills needed to secure a position with one of Michigan’s manufacturers.

The Starfish Story serves as a great reminder that we should always be looking for ways to help others, big or small, and we encourage you to give back in your own way, too.

Wishing happy holidays to you and yours!

The Starfish Story

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “I made a difference to that one!”

From our vantage point, this fire looked less serious than the previous fire that burned in February of this year. We hope you’ll think kind thoughts for the owners whose cars may have been damaged, but also hope you’ll enjoy this Billy Joel classic whose title (we hope!) suits today’s events.

With a staff of only 14 employees, we consider ourselves to be a pretty tight-knit group. To ensure we stay that way, LKF Marketing schedules group bonding events at least once per year. Last fall’s adventure was a leisurely canoe trip down the Portage Creek that included Lisa, Debbi, and Kristi causing a pile-up…on purpose! Oh, the shenanigans in this office…

This year’s group outing put our manners to the test – we dined at Zazio’s Chef’s Table in downtown Kalamazoo. Dining at the Chef’s Table meant we got to interact with Zazio’s head chef, John Korycki, as he prepared our five-course dinner. This month’s menu included food from the Molise region of Southern Italy and we certainly learned a lot about olive oil, cheese and that Italian cuisine includes way more than pasta and pizza!

The courses we enjoyed are listed below and we’d like to note that our point-and-shoot cameras present the food in an extremely sub-par manner; for this we are sorry! We do, however, strongly encourage you to plan an evening out and enjoy Zazio’s Chef’s Table and highly recommend your pants include an elastic waistband.

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Menu from Molise

Affetato molisano
sweet & spicy soppressata, provolone,
spicy giardiniera vegetables

Polenta con peperone
creamy cornmeal polenta, roasted red peppers, basil, extra virgin olive oil, caciotta di bufala

Maccheroni con ragu d’agnello
housemade semolina tubes with slow-braised
lamb ragu, rosemary & mint, ricotta salata

Grigliato misto
grilled pork tenderloin, quail & pancetta,
sage leaves, butterball potato & cauliflower

Pera con castagne
Michigan pears in spiced white wine,
chestnut sauce, chocolate gelato

Dr. Honeydew Bunsen (Kristi) and V (Nathan).

Last weekend, Nathan participated in Startup Weekend, an intense 54-hour event to create a web/mobile application that is the foundation of a fully functioning. revenue-earning company. Through teamwork, Startup Weekend strives to educate entrepreneurs and build communities around the world. The Kalamazoo event allowed 25 participants to compete in teams of five to design the best startup application. The week before its stop in Kalamazoo, competitions were held in Mexico, Pakistan, Dubai and Washington, DC.

Nathan’s group designed a website called “Kick Your Bucket List,” which allows users to create a virtual list of goals they would like to accomplish during their life. The site is programmed to recognize keywords from each goal entry and offers resources to help a user complete their tasks. For example, if a goal on your bucket list read “Travel to Africa,” the site would recognize the words “Travel” and “Africa.” You would then be prompted with links to travel sites to start planning your trip. Once you complete items on your bucket list, you can check them off and have the satisfaction of seeing one of your goals accomplished one by one!

Although it faced fierce competition, we’re proud to say that “Kick Your Bucket List” won first place! Nathan and his team were awarded $2,000 sponsored by MacUpdate, five hours of legal support from Honingman law firm and even one year of office space at The Bureau, a co-working space located on the downtown Kalamazoo Mall. We think it’s pretty cool how passionate Nathan is about designing websites and we are thrilled to have his brilliant mind on the LKF team!

Carol and Maigan helped Dani Nichol, the marketing director at the Air Zoo, direct guests to the expansion area by waving genuine lighted marshalling wands! We love to make our clients happy and the guests seemed very impressed with our signaling abilities and enthusiasm.

However, our performance was clearly sub-par to the guest’s first glimpse of what’s new at the Air Zoo – it’s amazing! The brand new Space: Dare to Dream exhibit takes you on an interactive journey through the discovery of space. The expansion also features an exhibit of women in aviation (including the Women Air force Service Pilots), space artifacts, interactive exhibits, an archive, and even an expanded library with free Wi-Fi Internet.  But that’s not all! The other side of the expansion houses World War II aircraft ranging from early trainers to gliders and even showcases attack aircraft.

We’re sure that our description doesn’t do it justice! Now that the Air Zoo’s expansion is fully open, you should check it out for yourself!

Our friends at the Air Zoo tell us that Donny and his friends were very down to earth and had great senses of humor. Their exuberant personalities were made obvious by all of the jokes they played on each other while riding flight simulators and checking out the rare and unique planes on  display. Everyone had such a great time; we wouldn’t be surprised if they come back!

Over the last few days, Debbi has given each chair a test run. Today’s test with the smaller patterned chair seems to have been a success, as Debbi thinks it’s a keeper. We’ll see how she feels on Monday morning – will she feel adventurous and choose a new chair or will she return to her long-time maroon companion? Let’s just hope she decides soon – her officemate, Kristi, is starting to feel like the empty chairs are watching her.

Enjoy the pictures below of: Carol’s two loyal and vocal Golden Retrievers, Mariah and Shiloh; Lisa’s calm and protective Shepherd/Collie mix, Tucky; Maigan’s hyper and playful Labradoodle puppy, Remi; and Sarah’s adorable and cuddly Daisy puppy, Sparty.

We think everyone deserves a break so we’ve decided to share our travels with you, too! Check out some of our most recent staff travels and stay tuned for more LKF journeys!